LACEY – A 24-year-old township man was charged with the dumping of hazard toxic pollutants along Lacey Road on Sunday.

Shortly before 10:45 p.m. on Sunday, the Lacey Township Police Department and fire units responded to a report of a vehicle in the woods on Lacey Road new milepost 6.

When the first responders arrived at the scene, however, there was no vehicle at the location, but there was a large spill of five 55-gallon plastic containers on the other side of the road and in the nearby woods, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said.

Two of the containers, which were empty by that time, had leaked onto the road and wetlands, authorities said.

Traffic Safety Officers Rob Flynn II and Jeff Slota of the Lacey Township Police Department, followed a trail of alleged diesel fuel to a Capshaw Road address where they observed a black Jeep Cherokee with damage to the passenger side and the rear tire missing, the prosecutor's office said.

The Jeep was attached to a trailer containing one 55-gallon drum with what authorities believe to be diesel fuel. A subsequent investigation determined that the operator of the Jeep was Nico Morgan, a Saltspray Drive resident, authorities said.

After the officers conferred briefly, Assistant Prosecutor Michael Weatherstone gave the approval for Morgan to be charged with second-degree purposely and knowingly causing a release and abandonment of hazardous toxic pollutants, authorities said.

His bail was set at $15,000 with no 10-percent option and he is free in lieu of bail to appear in court on a future date, the prosecutor's office said.

Officials from the Department of Environmental Protection were notified and will supervise the site clean up. The defendant will be responsible for the full expense of the site remediation if convicted, the authorities said.